Multi-Part Vehicle Extraction Method and Tool

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a method of expanding a vehicle for extracting a person trapped therein by providing a multi-part structural bar with a plurality of receiving points, securing the structural bar to the vehicle such as by placing against the back seat of an interior of a vehicle or by chaining to structural elements of the vehicle. One end of an expansion ram is then set into one of the receiving points of the multi-part structural bar with the other end of the ram set into a point in the vehicle to be expanded, or against a structural plate placed in a vehicle. The ram is then activated or expanded, thus resulting in an expansion of the interior of the vehicle to permit a person trapped therein to be extracted.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The disclosed vehicle extraction method and tool is for use in the extraction of accident victims from a vehicle, such as from underneath a dashboard and steering column, when that vehicle has been compressed or crushed as the result of an automobile accident. The vehicle extraction method and tool is used to expedite the expansion of the interior of a crushed vehicle using the tool in combination with extension ram devices, either manual, air or hydraulic powered, to engage the tool and a second part of the vehicle to be expanded, such as the dash, and then to expand the vehicle to permit access to a victim inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle. Safe access to the interior of a crushed vehicle and removal of crash victims is thereby expedited to permit quicker transfer to emergency transport vehicles for critical care over other existing emergency extraction devices and techniques.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Extracting victims from crushed vehicles has often involved saws and cutting implements as well as devices such as the well known Jaws of Life™. However when the portions of the vehicle to be cut away are in contact with the victim, it is difficult to cut hardened steel without causing further injury to a trapped victim. As well, with new alloys and compounds being used in vehicle cutting is an even less desirable option, making expansion of a crushed vehicle the preferred option in many environments.

Similarly, prior expansion devices such as the Jaws of Life™ have very limited expansion capacities and are best suiting to the forced opening of doors or other limited separations and are not suited to expanding the interior of a vehicle.

Prior whole vehicle expander emergency rescue tools principally focused on steering column lifting devices requiring the use of chains or devices used to cut windshields. However, none of these involve the same elements or relationship of components defined by the present vehicle extraction tool.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,014 to Smith, discloses a very large frame which either fits over or under an entire automobile which has winches attached to two ends to pull a collapsed automobile apart.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,029 to Bertino discloses a hood bridge which allows for the placement of two chains, one end having a pulley or a fulcrum over which the chain is allowed to pull in a perpendicular direction, the two chains placed within the device holding two chains and forcing them together to lift the steering column, which has been wrapped with one piece of the chain and hooked around the column. A fluid operated door opening device, including a pair of hydraulic piston rams used to pry open a door or other structure, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,304 to Hill.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,260 to Gehron a T-bar with an extending levered arm is placed on the hood of a damaged vehicle, after which a chain winch is attached to the T-bar which has been anchored to the front of the vehicle, and a second chain is attached to the levered arm and the steering column, the chain winch forcing the levered arm towards the front of the vehicle, lifting the steering column by the chain wrapped around the steering column. A very similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,144 to Keeble, except that a passenger side air bag shredder is included on the T-bar to puncture any passenger side air bag which might deploy during rescue operations.

While the devices disclosed above do address the issue of expanding the interior of a vehicle, in particular the raising of a steering column, all of them require gaining access to the passenger compartment and then attempting to wrap a chain around a steering column that is often blocked by the very victim they are trying to extricate from the vehicle. They do not provide a means to safely expand a vehicle when the steering column may not be accessible. They also require anchoring the device to the front of the vehicle, which may be damaged due to a head-on collision. As well in some vehicles, especially after an accident, the front of the vehicle may lack the stability needed to be used as a reliable anchor.

Often vehicles, especially those involved in accidents where in the passenger compartment has been compressed, lack the integrity to be safely expanded through prior means. A traditional ram or jack must be secured against multiple hard points in the vehicle to be effective otherwise the effect is not to expand a vehicle, but to merely punch holes in a vehicle as the integrity of multiple hard points is rarely sufficient to withstand the stresses needed to expand the passenger compartment of a vehicle. Traditional methods have involved the use of the above mentioned expanders, but focused on the hard point of the steering column. Lacking in the prior art is a means to provide a second hard point to permit efficient expansion when the steering column may not be available or otherwise when two hard points may not be available.

The current method and tool is designed to permit spreading or expanding the interior of a crushed vehicle and may be used both internally and externally. The method and tool requires no access to the interior of the passenger compartment to effect expansion of the interior of the vehicle. The current device acts as a supplemental structural element to a crushed vehicle by providing an array of hard points or receiving points in which to set an expanding ram or jack. The current device provides additional utility in being capable of being broken down to smaller and lighter components and used as a single unit, or as a sub-unit or combination of sub-units. Once placed, a ram or jack may then be fitted to the tool on one end, and then to a suitable hard point on the vehicle frame or a second tool on the other end.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed vehicle extraction tool is preferably comprised of a three-part bar or a length of high grade aluminum with an anchor on each end and a series of receiving points along the length of the tool which is comprised principally of three structural bar portions which may be joined to form a single compound structural bar. While solid steel, hollow steel and other materials can be used, in the preferred embodiment the device is comprised of three portions, each of which is about 36 inches long, 4 inches wide and 5 inches deep and made of high grade aluminum, such a FORTAL® type or 7075 alloy aluminum. While a full length structural bar of 96 or more inches is functional, and for some situations preferable, not all applications require a full length bar and often it is desirable to use a shorter bar. Further, storage, lifting and placement of a full length bar may be difficult due to constraints in available storage areas, or due to conditions at the scene of an accident and placement of a crushed vehicle.

While the device may be any number of portions, preferably the device is comprised of a central portion and a first and second end portion, each of generally equal length. The portions are joined together and may be secured by any number of means, trough preferably male to female socket connectors are used with securing pins. While male to female connectors may be used in any sequence, including having a first end portion with a male connector and a second end portion with female connecter allowing end portions to be joined in a two portion assembly or to be readily used with multiple center portions in series, in the preferred embodiment the end portions have male connectors, are mirror images and interchangeable with a center portion with two receiving female connectors.

Multiple receiving points are provided along each portion. Receiving points may be square, raised ridges, or any manner of allowing a hydraulic ram or jack to gain footing. In the preferred embodiment the receiving points area series of recesses approximately 3 inches in diameter, and ¼ to 1 inch deep. While the device is fully functional with only one or two receiving points, to provide further utility, preferably receiving points are displaced along the entire the length of the structural bar. Further utility may be obtained with receiving points on multiple sides of the structural bar. Further utility is provided though the use of swivel mounted u-type anchors at the distal ends of the first and second end portions.

In use it is determined which length of structural bar is needed for use. Then either a single portion, or an assembled structural bar of two or more portions is assembled, the portions secured together, and then placed in any one of a number of orientations relative to a vehicle. A hydraulic ram or jack is then set against a vehicle point on one end, and one of the receiving points on the structural bar on the other end. The hydraulic ram is then activated and expanded. The resulting force on the structural bar then expands a crushed vehicle through force on the vehicle point on the one end and the structural bar on the other, the structural bar providing a secondary structural point to increase the effectiveness of the hydraulic ram or jack. At times further utility may be provided by adding a secondary support plate between the hydraulic ram and the vehicle point, or using a remaining structural bar element for receiving the second end of the hydraulic ram or jack.

To further facilitate the effectiveness of the tool it is disclosed that the roof of a vehicle may be removed and cuts may be made at break points to facilitate the desired expansion.

Once the desired expansion of the crushed vehicle has been achieved, the victim or passenger(s) of the vehicle can be safely removed and transported to a hospital for further care.

Thus, it is among the objectives of the disclosed vehicle extraction tool to:

Provide a structural bar which is comprised of easily managed portions which may be assembled to varying lengths, the component parts being usable as single units or multi-portion assemblies.

Provide a structural receiving point for receiving one end of a jack or hydraulic ram which may then have a second end placed against a vehicle point to be expanded.

Provide a reinforcing element to a vehicle in a collision to permit force to be applied to a point in a crushed vehicle and thereby expand the interior of a crushed vehicle.

Provide an external structural element for a crushed vehicle to permit force to be applied to a crushed vehicle and thereby allow the expansion of the interior of the crushed vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above description and other objects, advantages, and features of the present embodiment will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of three assembled portions.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of three disassembled portions.

FIG. 3 is a profile view of the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a depiction of three assembled portions of the tool being used in a method of use with the tool secured against the back seat of a vehicle and a hydraulic ram displaced between the seats, the hydraulic ram traversing the space between the tool and the center console of a vehicle

FIG. 5 is a depiction of the tool being used in a method of use secured by chains to the center posts of a vehicle, a hydraulic ram traversing the space between the tool and a forward brace of the vehicle, the hydraulic ram external to the vehicle.

FIG. 6—is a depiction of three assembled portions of the tool being used, secured externally to a vehicle and the hydraulic ram disposed external to the vehicle, the hydraulic ram traversing the distance between the tool and a forward brace of the vehicle.

DETAILED DISCUSSION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND OPERATION

As depicted in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 in the preferred embodiment, the principal device is comprised of three structural bar portions 15, 16, 17 of Fortal® type or 7075 alloy aluminum, selected for its high strength and light weight, which together comprise a full structural bar 10. While a structural bar 10 of aluminum alloy is preferred, titanium, steel or other suitable materials in solid or tubular form may be used.

In the preferred embodiment, the structural bar 10 is comprised of a pair of end portions, being a first end portion 15 and a second end portion 17, each with a male connecting member 46, which may be secured to a central portion 16, which has female receiving sockets on each end. Each of the portions may be of any usable length, but in the preferred embodiment, each portion is approximately 36 inches such that when all three portions are assembled, the complete structural bar 10 is approximately 96 inches long, and approximately 4 inches wide and 5 inches deep.

In use a proper length for a structural bar is determined, and then as needed a single end portion 15 may be used, or multiple portions 15/16/17 may be joined together to create the desired length of structural bar 10. Male connectors 45/46 are fitted to female sockets as desired on a central portion 16, then may be secured with pins 41/42, which may be locked with cotter pins 50.

Just about any useful length, width and depth may be used for the portions, with 36 inches being selected as a balance between utility and manageability. Longer portions may be used as well as shorter portions and it is disclosed that it may be useful for a rescue crew to carry multiple portions of multiple lengths, using portion segments as receiving plates or longer bars for leverage. Further, portions may be color coded to allow ready determination of the type of portion, such as length and whether a portion has a male or female coupler end. Use of multiple length structural bars permits fitting the length of a bar used to the size of a vehicle and particular needs of any rescue.

Displaced along one or more sides of each portion of the structural bar are a number of receiving points 12 for receiving an force impeller such as a hydraulic ram or jack 22 (Shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6). In the preferred embodiment the receiving points 22 comprise a series of circular depressions with a diameter of approximately 3 inches and from about ¼ to ¾ inches deep. Ridges, rectangular depressions, notches, bars or even holes in a tubular structural bar may be used as receiving points (not shown), but the use of circular depressions has been found to be the most useful for the broadest range of applications. Further utility may be obtained with receiving points 12 on multiple sides of the structural bar 10.

The selected width and depth of the disclosed structural bar 10 are merely a preferred balance of strength, principally through material depth, and useful width to allow the ease fitting a hydraulic ram or jack 22 to receiving points 12. Smaller or wider and deeper structural bars may be constructed to fit more targeted uses, and the use of more exotic and expensive materials or metal alloys would facilitate tubular or larger and lighter weight structural bars, the disclosed dimensions being a preferred embodiment balancing utility and economic considerations.

Further utility is achieved though the attachment of end anchors 14 a/14 b such as swivel mounted u-bar hoist rings to the end portions 15/17.

FIG. 4 depicts one use of the structural bar 10 to expand the interior of a crushed vehicle 30. In a preferred method of use, after the top of a vehicle has been removed, one or more cuts in structural elements may be made 34.

The structural bar 10 may be placed against the back seat 32 of a vehicle 30. An expansion ram 22, such as a Holmatro® 4332, is then placed with a first end 26 in a receiving point 12, and a second end 27 against a distal point on the vehicle to be expanded, such as against the dashboard, or even into a second, shorter structural bar or receiving plate placed in the dashboard. The expansion ram 22 is then activated, imparting force on the structural bar 10 and the distal portion of the vehicle 30, to effect expansion of the crushed vehicle 30. If needed, the ram may be re-set to an alternate receiving point 12, and an alternate distal point in the vehicle 30 and activated a second or third time, or as often as needed to effect useful vehicle 30 expansion and permit the rescue of all trapped occupants.

While a hydraulic expansion ram 22 is disclosed as the preferred means of imparting expansive force, the means of implementing expansion may include manual expansion rams, pneumatic expanders and similar devices.

FIG. 5 depicts an alternate use of the structural bar 10. In some instances there may be limited access or other reasons that placement of an expansion ram 22 in the interior of the vehicle is not desired or possible. In such situations, after the top of the vehicle is removed if possible and desired, and expansion assisting cuts are made 34, the structural bar 10 may be placed in the vehicle 30 with a portion of the structural bar 10 extending to the outside of the vehicle 30. The expansion ram 22 may then be set with a first end 26 set in a receiving point 12 that is external to the vehicle 30, and the second end 27 of the expansion ram 22 set to a portion of the vehicle 30 to be expanded such as a forward vertical brace 36, as depicted in FIG. 5.

The means of setting an end 26 of the expansion ram 22 to a receiving point 12 external to the vehicle 30 may be used in conjunction with tandem expansion ram 22 setting internal to the vehicle 30, or alternating expansions with internal placement FIG. 4, and external placements FIG. 5 to effect the expansion desired to release any occupants trapped inside.

Depending on the needs of the expansion, it may be preferable to support the structural bar 10 with blocks and secure such by chaining 28 to a center brace 33 as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 depicts yet another alternate use of the structural bar 10. In some instances there may be no access to the interior of the vehicle or it may be desirable to operate external to the vehicle to be expanded. In such situations it is possible to secure the structural bar to the vehicle such as by chaining one end anchor 14 a to a vehicle component such as the center brace 33 and chaining the second end anchor 14 b to another component such as the forward axel or wheel well of the vehicle 30. This permits the expansion ram 22 to be set into a receiving point 12 at one end, and against a vehicle component such as a forward brace 36 at the other end, and on activation expand the interior of the vehicle.

In the general operation the structural bar 10 and expansion ram 22 may be set, activated, reset to alternate receiving points 12 and activated again any number of times as needed to safely expand the interior of a vehicle to permit the extraction of trapped occupants. As well it is disclosed the present rescue tool may be used in conjunction with prior technologies in any number of combinations.

It should be understood that various modifications and changes to the arrangement, operation and details of the disclosed tool and methods of use may be made to effect the utility and manner of practicing the disclosed invention. The above enabling disclosure of the best mode of practicing the invention should be seen as an exemplar and non-limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the claims presented. 

I claim:
 1. A method of expanding a crushed vehicle for extracting a person trapped therein comprising: a) providing a structural bar comprised of multiple portions with a plurality of receiving points; b) placing said structural bar against the back seat of an interior of a vehicle; c) providing an expansion ram with a first end and a second end; d) setting said first end of said expansion ram to one of said receiving points in said structural bar; e) setting said second end of said expansion ram to a point in said vehicle to be expanded; f) activating said expansion ram, causing linear expansion of said ram and thereby the expansion of said interior of a vehicle.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein a support plate or structural bar portion is displaced between said second end of said expansion ram and said point in said vehicle to be expanded.
 3. A method of expanding a crushed vehicle for extracting a person trapped therein comprising: a) providing a structural bar comprised of multiple portions with a plurality of receiving points; b) securing said structural bar to structural elements of a vehicle; c) providing an expansion ram with a first end and a second end; d) setting said first end of said expansion ram to one of said receiving points in said structural bar; e) setting said second end of said expansion ram to a point on said vehicle to be expanded; f) activating said expansion ram, causing linear expansion of said expansion ram and expansion of said interior of said vehicle.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the means of securing said structural bar to structural elements of a vehicle comprises the further steps of: a) providing end anchors at each end of said structural bar; b) securing a first end anchor to a structural element of said vehicle such as though chaining; and c) securing a second end anchor to a structural element of said vehicle such as through chaining
 5. The method of claim 3 wherein said structural bar is secured external to said vehicle.
 6. The method of claim 3 wherein a support plate or second structural bar is displaced between said second end of said expansion ram and said point in said vehicle to be expanded.
 7. The method of claim 4 wherein a support plate is displaced between said second end of said expansion ram and said point in said vehicle to be expanded.
 8. A vehicle extraction tool comprising: a structural bar comprised of multiple portions with a first end portion and a second end portion; and a plurality receiving points along the length of said structural bar.
 9. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 8 further comprising a central portion disposed between said first end portion and said second end portion.
 10. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 8 wherein affixed on said first end portion is an anchor and affixed on said second end portion is a second anchor.
 11. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 8 wherein said structural bar portions are is between 12 inches and 60 inches long.
 12. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 8 wherein said structural bar portions are between 20 inches and 40 inches long.
 13. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 9 wherein said structural bar is approximately 96 inches long.
 14. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 8 wherein said structural bar is square tubular steel.
 15. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 14 wherein said receiving points are holes in a wall of said structural bar.
 16. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 8 wherein said structural bar is solid aluminum.
 17. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 8 wherein said receiving points are recesses of between ¼ inch and 1 inch in depth.
 18. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 9 wherein said anchors are u-type anchors.
 19. The vehicle extraction tool of claim 9 wherein said anchors are swivel mounted u-type anchors. 